Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) have surged 56.3% in the past year, widely outpacing the industry’s 36% growth. We believe, higher earnings growth is likely to aid the stock in maintaining a solid performance in the upcoming quarters.
The company has also been executing several initiatives across all three segments namely, Ticketing, Sponsorship & Advertising, plus Concerts and Artist Nation, which are expected to improve sales and margins over the next few years.
Additionally, the stock has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate being revised 10% upward for 2017 and 8.7% upward for 2018, over the past two months. This in turn also substantiates the company’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
What Makes Live Nation a Solid Pick?
Solid Sales & EPS Growth Estimates: Live Nation’s current-year revenues are anticipated to grow 10.2% year over year, significantly surpassing the industry’s projected average growth of 3.9%.
Strong top-line growth is expected to reflect an even more robust bottom-line performance. Therefore, the company’s projected EPS growth is a whopping 194% compared with the industry’s mere 11.9% average.
It is important to note that earnings growth is arguably the most important metric for any given company as surging profit levels often indicate strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company in question.
Good VGM Score: Live Nation has a VGM Score of A. Our VGM Score identifies stocks with the most attractive value, growth and momentum characteristics. In fact, our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a favorable Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy), make some solid investment choices.
Strong Initiatives: Live Nation is adopting various digital measures with a promise to improve the ticket booking experience at both desktop and mobile sites, which is likely to drive sales. Meanwhile, increased on-site spending given the food and beverage initiative at amphitheaters, along with the addition of more points of sale as well as continuous refinement of its product assortment and pricing is also expected to boost concert business profit margins.
Other Key Picks
Some other top-ranked stocks in the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector include Malibu Boats, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBUU) , Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) and Polaris Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PII) . While Malibu Boats flaunts the same bullish Zacks Rank of 1 as Live Nation, Planet Fitness and Polaris carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
In the trailing four quarters, Malibu Boats, Planet Fitness and Polaris delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 6.01%, 15.72% and 7.07%, respectively.
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